Bitcoin Startup BitPay Raises $2 Million

BitPay is a company that helps merchants accept Bitcoins just as easily as they accept payments from Visa, MasterCard, and PayPal. Based in Atlanta, BitPay has announced today that they have raised $2 million. The company previously raised $510,000 in January.

This new round of funding was led by Founders Fund, the fund that is run by the PayPal Mafia. Heisenberg Capital, a London-based fund that targets Bitcoin focused companies also participated in this round.

“We were not looking to raise any capital until later this year, but we could not ignore the opportunity to have Founders Fund involved with BitPay,” stated BitPay co-founder and CEO Tony Gallippi. “There’s no single investment firm we would rather have on our team right now than Founders Fund.”

BitPay plans to use the funding to hire node.js developers and UX designers. The funding will also be used for investing in their platform and for further product development.

Around 2,100 businesses signed up using the platform to process Bitcoin payments. Around 1,900 merchants were added in April and they are now processing $5 million per month in Bitcoin transactions covering goods like electronics and precious metals.